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Profesora María Jimena Martínez

Reading material

IDIOMA I

LET'S GO FISHING

Fishing has become a very popular sport especially in some countries. No

wonder certain lakes and rivers are flooded with fishermen eager to explore

the local “trophies”. Let’s visit Sweden, Hungary, Western Australia or Italy,

the cradle of fish tourism.

Italy: Perfect Destination for Fish Tourism

Fish tourism is part of a wider context of marine ecotourism and may involve the embarkation of

persons (who are not members of the crew) on fishing vessels for recreational-tourism purposes,

as well as the accommodation, catering and general provision of special tourism services

associated to fishing and aquaculture and related customs and traditions.

Helping the Coastal Communities

The development of fish tourism may be perceived as an employment diversification opportunity

aiming to help regenerate coastal communities, and fishermen in particular, that are experiencing

economic hardship as a result of the decline of their income from traditional fishing activities.

Moreover, fish tourism may propagate eco-awareness and the principles of sustainable

development on both the parties involved, operators and customers, fishermen and tourists.

The need for such diversification in coastal regions -and the fishing communities in particular- has

been long recognized by many national and international authorities, recommending that the

inshore fisheries sector should be encouraged to pursue opportunities for diversification in

addition to safeguarding traditional fishing activities.

Such diversification, which is considered a priority by the EU, has been successfully implemented

in many costal regions of the EU. In all cases, apart from the economic, societal and demographic

reasons that set the base for the development of fish tourism in a region, a supportive and

comprehensive legal framework is required.

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The Strategy of Italy

Italy is closely related to the sea as there are 7,600 km of coastline and many inland waters (lakes

and rivers). There are more than 16,000 fishing vessels, the majority of which are coastal and small

scale fishing vessels, largely affected by diminishing fish stocks. The increasing rate of

unemployment has led to the development of alternative forms of occupation (professional

diversification) and fish tourism activities in particular.

Apart from sport fishing of large pelagic species like swordfish and tuna, pescaturismo has

developed over the past few years, combining demonstration of fishing activities as well as

participation.

The Italians made one step further developing ittiturismo which is a

form of agrotourism practiced in coastal areas with emphasis given on

fishery related traditions and customs. This kind of tourism provides a

chance to the local fishermen to improve their income and to the

tourists to discover the local fishing culture and explore the coastal

areas.

Fish tourism has developed not only close to the sea, but also in inland areas, in communities

where inland water fishing is practiced, such as in lagoons, lakes and rivers.

There are big national federations like FIPS (Federazione Italiana Pesca Sportivo) and KONI (Italian

Olympic Commission) which occasionally organize sport fishing games across Italy. Carp, roach,

trout, pike, eels are some of the species abundant to the lakes of Garda, Como, Iseo, Lago

Maggiore, Trasimeno, Bracciano and Bolsena and of course salmon and trout to the rivers. Due to

the tendency of the recreational fishermen to participate in such fishing activities, it is very likely

that Pescaturismo will expand also to the inland waters.

Best Practice?

By far, the Italian model presents an ideal case of the best practice in fish tourism.

Pescaturismo is an integrated approach to fish tourism, focusing on the following activities which

promote the fishing tradition and marine culture:

Conducting boat excursions along the coastline (including spending overnight on board)

Watching the professional fishing activity

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Introduction to the traditional and classical fishing gear

Provision of lunch on board or at shore

Game fishing

Provision of information on the marine environment and the coastal biodiversity

Ittiturismo provides additionally the following services:

Staying at fishermen’s’ lodgings (if appropriately modified for such use)

Tasting and purchasing food at local traditional fisheries (prepared with traditional recipes,

homemade).

The Pescaturismo initiative is managed by Lega Pesca which is a national association member of

the Italian Union of Cooperatives and Associations. The structural role of Lega Pesca is to promote,

supervise, represent and support the members of Pescaturismo (300 associations counting 20,000

members). Lega Pesca provides technical, financing, legal and managerial support.

Fish tourism activities are conducted by professional fishermen using their fishing vessel for

exhibitions lasting from some hours to a few days (if accommodation is provided) returning always

the tourists at the place of departure.

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TSUNAMI’S EFFECTS ON TOURISM

Tourism companies sell Asian nature and cultural landscapes

to their customers. Asia is a land rich in different cultures,

which is what makes traveling there so appealing. South and

Southeast Asia sits along the Indian Ocean, a warm, inviting,

and relaxing place to be. This was the case until the

earthquake off the coast of Sumatra caused a tsunami along

the coast on December 26, 2004.

Asian governments were urging Western tourists not to

change their travel plans. Tourism plays an important

economic role in these countries and in some cases accounts for more than half of the country's

income. Many tourists have been frightened about traveling to this part of the world since the

tsunami hit. Over 7,000 tourists are said to have died from the disaster, and nearly 500 are

missing. More than half of the death toll came from the country of Sweden, which lost 3,559

citizens to the tsunami.

Imagine sitting on the beach without a worry in the world, when suddenly the ocean's water

drains outward at an incredible rate. Would you be intrigued to find out what happened, and

venture into the area where fish are now flopping around, or where

there are many sea shells and other sea creatures suddenly visible? That

is what many tourists did, and that is how many of their lives were

taken. Curiosity got the best of them, while some indigenous peoples

knew better and sought refuge in the mountains.

Indian Ocean resorts had been experiencing a good tourist season. Most tourists come from

European countries and Australia. The area had been avoided for sometime after the Bali

bombings, Iraq invasion, and the threat of SARS. After these problems had begun to lessen, the

tsunami suddenly brought more worry to the tourism industries of the region.

Indonesia

Indonesia was hit badly by the disaster, but hardest hit was northern Sumatra. This region is not a

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viable tourist hot spot, like other islands in the country (such as Bali and Lombok), due to an on-

going civil war. The country hoped to actually increase its tourist count because most of its land

was unharmed by the disaster, but tourist counts fell by 16% from the month of December to

January. The previous year, tourist counts were down just 2% between the two months.

Indonesia depends on its tourism industry for about U.S. $5 billion per year and Bali accounts for

about 60% of that income. Bali's tourism had suffered from previous years mostly because of

terrorist bombings and the threat of SARS. Bali was not affected physically by the tsunami, but has

been affected economically.

Thailand

Hotels, restaurants, and other travel businesses claim that the tsunami and aftershock had no long

term impacts on Phuket's booking and arrivals, but one source states that there was a 27% drop in

tourism.

"It's 99 percent operational now," Simon J. Hand, a Phuket resident who is associate editor of Asia-

Pacific Tropical Homes magazine, said in late March. "At its worst, it was 90 percent operational.

Patong Beach is the main tourist trap, and the wave hit everything along the shorefront road. But

150 yards farther up, even the next day, you wouldn't have known anything happened."

The Bangkok Phuket Hospital is working to bring tourism back to the country. It claims that now is

the time to visit Thailand, since there are many special deals at hotels and restaurants. Now,

during the high season, the beaches are not over-crowded. The beaches are now cleaner than they

have ever been due to cleanup efforts after the tsunami. Tourism websites assert that the best

way to help the area recover is to simply visit it! They also try to lure some people in with saying

"We are ready for tourists that want to use our service like plastic surgery, dental treatments, or

eye LASIK at TRSC at a fraction of the price in most western countries."

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was hardest hit in the southern regions. At first, workers in the tourism industry were

upset at what appeared to be a lack of sympathy from tourists. Seeing tourists laughing and

enjoying themselves was tough, considering many of the workers had lost their homes, families,

and possessions to the tsunami. Tourism is the fourth largest industry in Sri Lanka, so when the

industry started to slide, feelings were pushed aside to and more efforts were made to bring more

people to the island.

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"The Tourism Ministry has begun a $6 million marketing campaign to lure visitors back to the

island, but the strategy has had only limited success. Many areas remain in such bad shape that

they offend the sensibilities of visitors who come in search of poolside relaxation."

About 800,000 people depend on the tourist industry either directly or indirectly in Sri Lanka.

"Hotels across the country are running an average at 20% capacity, even thought 80% of them

were untouched by the disaster"

India

It seems that India's tourism industry was not as badly hit as other countries. Most tourist areas

are along the Arabian Sea, while the Bay of Bengal supports local fisheries. There is one large

commercial destination, Chennai (formerly Madras), on the eastern coast of India that was hit

hard. About 650,000 people were displaced in this area. Areas worst affected were the islands that

are closest to the epicenter, which lie on the tip of India.

"Indira Point, which was India's southernmost tip and a 100-sq km island, has just disappeared into

the ocean... Although there were some tourists and Andaman & Nicobar Islands were being

positioned to become the next Maldives, these plans will now need to be shelved, as there has

been huge loss of coral and other marine life. Loss along India’s main coastline was concentrated

on some regions and recovery and re-habilitation work is currently ongoing."

The tourism outlook for India remains strong as its hotspots were not severely damaged, except

for the Andaman and Nicobar islands. They also hope to bring in more tourists that would have

otherwise gone to Thailand and Malaysia.

Let's Bring the Tourists Back!

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is working to find a solution in bringing

tourists back to the area. ASEAN is a group of 10 member countries in Southeast Asia. Members

are working together to lure tourists into not only their own countries, but to Southeast Asia as a

whole. They have been inviting international travel writers and sending promotional video clips to

potential tourists. ASEAN is also working to create more tourism amongst its own citizens to offset

the loss from foreign travelers.

Governments maintain that their countries are safe for travelers and if anyone truly wants to help,

they can start by reviving their tourist economies. ASEAN is also working to make beaches safer,

for example, there have been talks of setting up a tsunami early-warning system.

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The countries understand that there is a psychological reason that tourists have not chosen them

as destinations in recent months, but are optimistic that the effects of the tsunami will not be

long-term and tourists will return soon.

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EMERGENCY: MACHU PICCHU CLOSED

Tourism is often described as a fragile industry in that demand for

travel is highly susceptible to numerous factors. Nevertheless, for

many countries the tourism sector is an important contributor to the

economy. Especially in some less economically developed countries

the local economy is dependent upon and greatly relies upon the tourism industry. One of the

most unforeseeable forces affecting tourism are natural disasters. Natural disasters can have a

tremendous impact on tourism as they usually destroy the natural environment and infrastructure

and thus tourism is significantly disrupted. Additionally, natural disasters more often than not

cause an increase in tourists’ concerns about security and safety.

In late January 2010 Peru’s south-eastern region, the Cusco area, experienced heavy torrential

rains which forced a two month closure of Peru’s top tourist attraction, the Inca Citadel of Machu

Picchu. The Urubamba River, which runs down past the Inca ruins on Machu Picchu, swelled to an

unexpected volume of water and up to 20,000 people had their homes destroyed by the floods.

According to The Economist, officials predicted a damage of $240m to infrastructure and farming.

Machu Picchu with the pre-Columbian Inca site is one of the most popular tourist destinations in

South America and normally some 68,000 people a month come to visit the ruins. Locals depend

on those tourists, who reach the site either by walking along the Inca Trail, or via train.

The Machu Picchu railway, which carried about 2,200 tourists a day was destroyed by the floods

and the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu were cut of from the lower sites. The heavy rains forced the

evacuation of thousands of tourists from Machu Picchu. As the Cusco region accounts for a high

percentage of the country’s tourism revenue, Peru was facing fears of a tourism decline resulting

from the natural disaster. In fact, thousands of foreign tourists cancelled their holidays to Peru.

The inaccessibility of Machu Picchu caused a loss of at least a million dollars a day for the Peruvian

tourism industry.

Bartolome Campana, director of the National Chamber of Tourism, highlighted the importance of

the tourism sector for Peru when he admitted that the country is dependent on tourism. The

government reacted quickly and launched a campaign to deal with the destruction. To help the

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tourism industry, government cut off prices. Domestic tourists were offered half-price flights and

hotel rooms to visit Cusco, the city nearest the world-famous Machu Picchu.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism revenues represent a highly

significant 7.4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and therefore great losses in

this sector would affect thousands of jobs. The Peruvians seemed to have recognized the problem

that was highlighted by the crisis – Peru’s over-dependence on Machu Picchu for the tourism

sector.

BBC Online anticipated that “the number of holidays cancelled by European, Japanese and US

tourists is clear evidence that for almost all first-time travellers to Peru, it's Machu Picchu or bust”.

Thus, the country decided to seize the opportunity and to diversify its tourism sector in both the

short and long term. Officials tried to encourage visitors to explore different parts of Peru such as

the Nazca lines and the Colca canyon. Other attractions in the Cusco region that have been

promoted to keep people coming to Peru were Sacsayhuamán fortress, the Coricancha sun temple

or the town of Pisac.

The re-opening of Machu Picchu at the beginning of April 2010 was of symbolic and economic

importance to Peru. Peru's Tourism Minister Martin Perez estimated a loss of $185m (£122m) for

the time the Machu Picchu was closed. And according to Richard Leon, Director of the travel

company Peru For Less, the natural disaster has been more disruptive to Peru’s tourism industry

than the financial crisis and the swine flu combined.

Nevertheless, Peru seems to be back on track. Shortly after the floods the government estimated

that despite the difficulties, about 2.2 million tourists would travel to Peru in 2010. With its main

attraction, the Machu Picchu, and the initiative to diversify and also promote other attractions

Peru is likely to hold and maybe even improve its position as one of the top South American travel

destinations.

In the end it clearly shows how important crisis management is in tourism, especially if tourism is

such an essential part of the country’s economy. But it also demonstrates that relying on a single

attraction that acts as a pillar of a whole industry can have tremendous impacts in times of global

warming and an increase in natural disasters.

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GROTTA GIGANTE: THE WORLD’S LARGEST TOURIST CAVE

It might seem as if no matter where you go in Italy, you’re likely

to see something old. But to see some of the stuff that’s really

been around awhile, you need to go underground. There it’s

possible to see natural formations of rock that have been growing

for several hundred thousand years or so.

One of the best places to do so is within an easy drive of Aviano Air Base or Vicenza. Grotta

Gigante (“giant cave”) is just north of Trieste, near the Italian border with Slovenia. According to

its publicity, it has been called the world’s largest tourist cave and is listed in the Guinness Book of

Records.

Italians knew about the cave long before there was an Italy. But there wasn’t much written about

it until a series of explorations conducted in the 1800s. That’s probably because the cave wasn’t

easy to explore until modern spelunking techniques and equipment were introduced. Before that,

it’s possible that some people got in but didn’t live to relate the tale. The original entrance had a

steep drop: The first step, as they say, was a doozy.

It wasn’t until 1908 that the first groups of tourists had ready access at another entrance. Since

then, it has become a popular tourist attraction of the Trieste area.

These days, it’s not necessary to take your own flashlight, ropes and climbing gear for a trip inside

– in fact, that would be frowned upon. Just wear a good pair of shoes and maybe a jacket, as

temperatures (around 11°C) below tend to be cooler than those above.

There’s a series of prohibited items, including cameras and cell phones. No smoking. No dogs – or

other pets, presumably. It probably wouldn’t make sense to take small children who can’t walk a

lot on their own, either. Strollers won’t work, and visitors have to navigate about 500 steps down

and back up during the trip. Visitors follow a guide along a cement pathway lined with metal

railings and featuring step after step after step (it might seem as if there are even more on the way

back up).

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The most impressive aspect of Grotta Gigante is the sheer size of the place. According to various

web sites, it is about 925 feet long, 215 feet wide and 350 feet high. Pick just about any size

building you know – St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, for instance – and it would fit inside.

The cave is well lit in most places, allowing visitors to see the variations in colors that range from

white to red, with a lot of general shades of “rock” thrown in. There are stalactites (formations

going down) and stalagmites (formations going up) in abundance – some are 30 m long.

The most noted features are various named stalagmites. It takes years of dripping water to form

the oddly shaped creations. The largest, named Ruggero after an early explorer, is thought to be

about 200,000 years in the making. So plan a second visit in a few decades. Maybe you’ll notice

half an inch of new material.

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WORLD HERITAGE LIST: 9 UNIQUE

LANDMARKS

Bulgaria has a total of nine landmarks included in the UNESCO’s List

of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage.

Kazanluk Tomb

A Thracian tomb, dated to the late 4th-early 3rdcentury B.C. The murals in the burial chamber and

in the corridor are of exclusive artistic value. The tomb is located in the Tyulbeto Hillnear the town

of Kazanluk.

Ivanovo Rock Churches

A rock monastery compound of the Holy Archangel Michael, with partially preserved churches.

The murals in the Church of the Holy Virgin have been described as some of the most significant

achievements of 14th century Bulgarian medieval art. The churches are located about 20 km away

from the city of Rouse, east of the village of Ivanovo, in the rocks of the Rousenski Lom Nature

Park.

Boyana Church

It has unique murals from 1259, considered among the masterpieces of medieval European

painting. It is at a distance of about 8 km from the centre of the city of Sofia (in the Boyana

residential district), in the foothills of Mount Vitosha.

Madara Horseman

A rock relief, cut into the Madara rocks on the northern slope of the Provadiisko Plateau at the

height of 23 m. This is the most significant monumental piece of art from the early Middle Ages,

unique of its kind in European cultural history. It is close to the village of Madara, about 16 km

away from the city of Shoumen.

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Rila Monastery

The most impressive monastery compound in Bulgaria of exceptional architectural and artistic

merits. Founded in the 10th century, rebuilt in the 13 th -14th century, a literary centre in the 15th

century and completed in its present-day striking appearance during the 19 th century. A spiritual

centre of the Bulgarian people, it is located in the Northwest part of the Rila Mountain, about 20

km from the town of Rila and about 120 km from Sofia.

Nessebur, the old part of the town

An architectural, historical and archaeological reserve at the BlackSea coast with valuable

archaeological relics from different periods, original churches from the 5th to the 17th century and

authentic National Revival Period houses.

Sveshtari Tomb

A Thracian tomb from the first half of the 3rd century B.C. The central burial chamber has

exceptionally lavish decoration and impressive caryatides in high relief. It is located close to the

village of Sveshtari, 7 km northwest of the town of Isperih.

Sreburna Reserve

A biosphere reserve in the valley of the Danube, including the Sreburna Lake and its surroundings.

It has been established for the preservation of rare plant and animal species. It is 16 km west of

the town of Silistra.

Pirin National Park

It is part of the scenic Pirin Mountain. Located in the high parts of the Northern Mount Pirin, it is

characterized by a specific relief and an inimitable plant and animal world. It also incorporates the

Bayuvi Doupki-Dzhindzhiritsa Biosphere Reserve and the Yulen Reserve.

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DISABILITY: EU PROMISES 'ACCESSIBILITY ACT' IN 2012European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding told MEPs at the beginning of January that

she will present a proposal for a 'European Accessibility Act' before the end of 2012. This new

legislation is seen by the Commission as a key element of the

European Disability Strategy, which was unveiled last year.

The EU executive is getting ready to launch a major study that will

identify and analyse the barriers which prevent people with

disabilities from making full use of public buildings, transport and all

kinds of services. The results of this study will provide the basis for

developing new EU legislation on accessibility standards.

Vice-President Reding spoke about the overall goals and scope of the 'European Accessibility Act'

when she addressed a special meeting of the Disability Intergroup in the European Parliament,

which took place in Brussels. The meeting was attended by MEPs and by organisations

representing people with disabilities.

"I will work hard to get all the actors on board to make sure that products and services, public

buildings and spaces become more accessible to all our citizens, and to this end we will launch a

study to identify the issues at stake," promised Reding.

"Based on this study I will propose an accessibility act in 2012. I know that I can count on the

European Parliament to support this crucial issue," she said.

Challenges and Opportunities

Currently there are some 80 million people with various kinds of disabilities in the European

Union, but this number is expected to increase in the coming years, mainly as a result of the

growing proportion of older citizens in the population.

Reding is determined that the EU should try to be a world leader in developing products and

services that are accessible to people with disabilities. "Europe should become an exporter of

those goods and services," she said.

The vice-president believes this is important not just for ensuring fundamental rights and equal

opportunities, but also as a way of creating jobs and growth by taking advantage of growing

market opportunities.

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To make the most of these opportunities, the Commission will develop common standards for ICT

(information and communication technologies), the built environment and product design.

Reding hopes that it will be possible to agree on common standards not only at European level,

but also in cooperation with other major players in the global economy.

"We should work with our partners on other continents in order to get global standards being put

in place," said Reding. "We have already started to do so with the United States, and with other

partners at international level, and in the end we hope that will bring coherence into our

standards."

The Commission vice-president cited progress made in the USA under the provisions of the

'Americans with Disabilities Act', which has been in force since 1990. "I think we should learn from

this positive experience and go ahead in Europe too," she said.

New Legal Framework

Reding noted that the Lisbon Treaty provides a legal basis for main-streaming disability issues into

other policies, and also gives a legal status to the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. In this new

framework, the Commission is obliged to make sure that the needs of people with disabilities are

taken into account during the development and implementation of all EU policies and legislation.

Another important development is that the European Union has recently concluded the process of

ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is the first

comprehensive human rights treaty to be ratified by the EU as a whole.

Reding explained that the Commission will be responsible for coordinating and monitoring the

implementation of the UN Convention at the level of the European Union, in cooperation with the

other EU institutions and also with the member states.

All the EU's 27 member states have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities, and most of them (16) have already ratified it.

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THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is widely acknowledged to be the

biggest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for

three weeks in Scotland’s capital city.

Every year thousands of performers take to a multitude of stages all

over Edinburgh to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to

unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and includes

theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, musicals, operas, music, exhibitions and events.

Going Back in Time

Our story dates back to 1947, when eight theatre groups turned up uninvited to perform at the

(then newly formed) Edinburgh International Festival, an initiative created to celebrate and enrich

European cultural life in the wake of the Second World War. Not being part of the official

programme of the International festival didn’t stop these performers – they just went ahead and

staged their shows anyway. Year on year more and more performers followed their example and

in 1959 the Festival Fringe Society was created in response to the success of this growing trend.

The Society formalised the existence of this collective of performances, provided information to

artists, published the Fringe programme and created a central box office. Its constitution was

written in line with the ethos that brought these theatre companies to Edinburgh back in 1947:

that the Society was to take no part in vetting the festival’s programme. To this day that policy

remains at the core of our festival and we’re proud to include in our programme anyone with a

story to tell and a venue willing to host them. So come on in and join us in this celebration of arts

and entertainment!

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TRAVEL ETIQUETTE: HOW DO YOU TRAVEL?

We travel to ski, dive, watch birds, visit galleries and museums, to enjoy

the scenery or the sunshine, to hang out in someone else’s place. Travel is

about choice, leisure, relaxation, escape and freedom. It is also about

work, business and pilgrimage. We travel for many different reasons and

few places are now beyond the reach of tourists and travellers.

In some destinations tourists are so numerous that they determine the character of the place, the

tourists dominate. A cathedral or museum becomes a tourist place, tourism the dominant use.

Sites like the Tower of London, the British Museum and Westminster Abbey, attract visitors in such

numbers that they are predominantly attractions – cathedrals are perhaps best experienced

during services or concerts when the gawpers and their cameras are excluded. Public spaces too

are dominated by tourists crowding Trafalgar Square, climbing on the sculptures.

Tourism is not a pollution free industry. Travel causes greenhouse gas emissions and contributes

to global warming. Hotels need to be encouraged to reduce their water and power consumption

and to buy locally to support the local economy. But we as travellers make a difference too; we

affect the places we visit and the people who live there. As Tourism Concern has been pointing out

for twenty years we take out holidays in their homes. Valene Smith and others have established

the host – guest aspiration; an aspiration that locals should be treated as hosts and the tourists as

guests. Ambitious perhaps, but without ambition and an effort to change the nature of tourism,

and the way we travel as individuals and groups, only deterioration is possible as numbers

increase.

When we travel we all make choices. How we travel, the choices we make, make a difference to

our experience and enjoyment of it, and the people and places we visit. The old adage ‘travel

broadens the mind’ is only true if we travel with open minds and engage with people in the

destination. We live in a world of diversity. Cultural and natural diversity is our heritage and it is

there for us to enjoy. But to enjoy as guests, we need to travel with respect and treat other

people, their places and their environment with respect.

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If you travel with respect you will have a more authentic experience, get closer to the local people

and have a better experience. The choices we make when we travel – how, when and where we

go, where we stay and what we do, make a difference. As Krippendorf pointed out, when we

travel we can build up or destroy human values – it is our choice. When we encounter difference

we can turn away or explore it – either way we can do it with respect and do it politely.

We need always to be conscious of how we feel as ‘the visited’, tourists cluttering our streets and

squares, photographing us, peering into the windows of our homes invading and denying our

privacy, coaches, engines running, outside our houses, groups of tourists aware only of themselves

oblivious to others. People behaving badly because they are away from home; forgetting their

manners, acting as though they have bought the restaurant or park when they have only rented it,

unaware of the others with whom they share it and of their enjoyment of it, uncaring about the

disturbance they cause to others, behaving not as guests but as invaders.

Travel etiquette is about good manners, about treating the locals, their values and their

environment with respect. As a traveller or holidaymaker you chose to go there, travel in a spirit of

enquiry, cultivate the habit of asking questions and listening to the answers – not a Western habit,

and accept that other people are different, not necessarily wrong. We travel for fulfillment to

satisfy our needs for enjoyment and experience but that enjoyment, our indulgence, should not be

at the expense of others. We should surely treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves.

At the heart to Responsible Travel is the aspiration to make “better places for people to live in,

better places for people to visit”. As tourists we become travellers when we are able to accept a

place and truly experience it, as guests.

www.tourismreview.com

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